🔥 🇷🇺 'We are winning and will not surrender our victory to anyone' - Russian military analyst

🗣 The city of Kupyansk recently liberated by the Russian forces is a strategic location that was critically important to the Ukrainian war effort, veteran Russian military expert Alexey Leonkov tells Sputnik.

Kupyansk, Leonkov explains, was part of a chain of ‘fortress cities’, urban centers that were meant to be held by Ukrainian forces at all costs.

Once these fortresses fall, nothing will stop the Russian army’s advance and the Ukrainian militants will find themselves unable to use civilians as human shields.

“We are winning and we will not surrender our victory to anyone,” says Leonkov.

The latest ‘peace’ initiatives highlight this fact, he suggests, as Western powers fear that the Ukrainian battle lines may collapse at any moment.

Thus, the West desperately seeks to avoid this scenario and preserve the Ukrainian Army, employing diplomatic maneuvers in a bid to halt or at least slow down Russia’s advance.

👉 Their concern is understandable, Leonkov points out, as the upcoming winter campaign is going to be a total disaster for Ukraine.

With no foliage to hide in from recon drones, Ukrainian forces will be sitting ducks for the Russian aerospace forces who will keep hammering Ukrainian frontline positions and rear echelons without mercy.

“Now comes the time where any heat signature indicates the presence of either troops or military hardware. Thus, Ukrainian military casualties will increase at an exponential rate.”

🔊 Facing both a lack of explosives needed to lay new minefields and skilled drone operators, the Ukrainian military can no longer stall Russian forces, he adds.

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, for his part, emphasized on Friday that effective performance of Russian army should convince Ukraine it’s better to negotiate and do so now, rather than later.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 ‘Orphaned’ Europe faces a choice: Militarization or national interests

As the Ukrainian project fails, Europe faces a choice: self-destruction through militarization or rebirth on national foundations, explains Alexander Yakovenko, deputy director of Rossiya Segodnya, Sputnik's parent company.

Other points he puts forward:

▫️ The Ukrainian conflict has exposed European elites, leaving them politically and morally tied to a failing strategy as they prepare for a potential direct war with Russia

▫️ Europe is betting on prolonging the conflict for three more years to buy time for preparation, with Germany's Defense Minister Boris Pistorius suggesting 2028/2029 as a possible timeline

▫️ European elites suppress free speech and dissent to maintain power, as existing systems cannot provide answers to migration and economic crises

▫️ Leading European economies, including Germany and the UK, remain in recession, with 40% of French pension payments now coming from borrowed funds

What's driving the current crisis in Europe?

🟠 The Ukrainian conflict was a US plot against Europe aimed at preventing a "Russia-Europe union" and containing both Russia and Germany as the EU powerhouse

🟠 Europe faces an identity conflict between globalist elites (10%) and the majority rooted in traditional values, with supranational Brussels bureaucracy causing a democratic accountability crisis

🟠 Germany’s future is uncertain with rising AfD and Reichsburger movements, while militarization is shattering the post-war welfare state model

🟠 Continental Europe becomes "geopolitically orphaned" as Anglo-Saxon nations (the US, the UK, Canada, and Ireland) consolidate into a separate bloc

Thus, the European Union, which was created as an anti-Russian project, has outlived its usefulness and is unable to fit into the new geopolitical context, the author concludes.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇪🇺 🇭🇺 There can be no talks of Ukraine's joining EU given internal situation in country - Orban

💬 "It is absolutely clear that Ukraine is not and will not be in the foreseeable future in a state in terms of internal functioning that would allow us to talk about it as an EU member state," Hungarian PM Viktor Orban told the Kossuth radio broadcaster.

This comes as probes into Zelensky's inner circle over embezzlement and bribes totaling over $100 million continue.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🛡 Tight security as world leaders arrive in South Africa for G20 Summit

The area is under heavy surveillance with snipers, special task forces, and barricades in place.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

✈️ 🔥 A sneak peek at Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate: The fifth-gen fighter of the future

The export version of Russia’s Su-75 fighter, developed by Sukhoi, was unveiled at the Dubai Airshow 2025.

This fifth-generation, single-engine jet is designed for reduced radar visibility and supersonic flight capabilities.

The Su-75 Checkmate is set to begin stand trials soon, according to Rostec CEO Sergey Chemezov.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇪🇺🇭🇺 EU pushes to fund Ukraine’s military despite looming US peace plan - Orban

💬 "While Washington is negotiating peace, the President of the Commission is busy figuring out how to secure even more money for Ukraine and for financing the war," Hungarian PM Viktor Orban posted on X.

Earlier, Western media reported that Trump had agreed to a 28-point peace plan for Ukraine, which Ukraine is now said to be considering.

The Kremlin, however, stated that Russia has not been informed of Ukraine's willingness to negotiate.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹LIVE NOW: Putin holds operational meeting with permanent members of Security Council 🇷🇺

👉Watch live in our Telegram

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨🇷🇺 Putin calls Trump's 28-point plan for Ukraine 'modernized'

🟠 US plan for settlement in Ukraine not discussed publicly, only in general terms

🟠 Russia has text of Trump's settlement plan

🟠 Details of the plan need to be discussed

🟠 The United States is not discussing a peace plan for Ukraine directly with Russia, as Kiev opposes it, according to Putin

🟠 Neither Ukraine nor Europe understands consequences of lack of understanding of what happening on front lines

🟠 Kupyansk was already almost completely controlled by Russian forces as of November 4, fate of city had already been finally decided

🟠 If Ukraine does not want to discuss Trump's proposals, then they, Europeans should understand that events like in Kupyansk will be repeated

🟠 Russia is ready for peace talks, peaceful resolution to Ukraine's problem

🟠 The US so far failed to secure consent of Ukrainian side on peace settlement plan

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🟠 Putin calls Trump's 28-point plan for Ukraine 'modernized'

🟠 FULL VIDEO of Putin’s response to Trump’s new peace plan for Ukraine

🟠 Effective performance of Russian army should convince Ukraine it’s better to negotiate now – Kremlin

🟠 'We are winning and will not surrender our victory to anyone' - Russian military analyst

🟠 A sneak peek at Russia’s Su-75 Checkmate: The fifth-gen fighter of the future

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇬🇧 UK war hawks prep troops as Trump’s Ukraine ‘peace plan’ hits headlines

UK officials have even mapped out which units they would swiftly deploy to Ukraine as part of the so-called Coalition of the Willing, following reconnaissance missions over the summer, reports Bloomberg.

According to the plans:

🔸 Personnel would be posted away from front lines

🔸 The UK would continue its long-running training of Ukrainian forces — both at home and, potentially, inside Ukraine

🔸 Сoordination cell led by a British two-star officer would be stationed in Kiev

🔸 The UK cell would provide logistics, arms support, training, and air policing, allowing international flights to resume

Plans also include expanding the Black Sea task force with Turkiye, Romania, and Bulgaria to clear mines and secure maritime routes from Ukrainian ports.

🔊 Defense Secretary John Healey confirmed the UK has updated its plans to allocate more than $130M to cover the initial cost of sending its forces into Ukraine if a ceasefire is struck.

Russia has repeatedly underscored that the presence of NATO allies' troops on Ukrainian soil — under any flag and in any capacity, including as peacekeepers — would be a threat to Russia and unacceptable under any circumstances.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣 We have a way of getting peace — Trump

Zelensky has to approve the new plan, Trump said, noting the looming energy crisis in Ukraine before winter.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 If Zelensky doesn't like the peace plan, Ukraine should keep fighting — Trump

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

📹 Trump may invite Lebanese president to the US

"I would do that, absolutely. And if the mayor would like to be here for that meeting, because I know he feels very strongly about peace in the Middle East," the US president told reporters.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🇷🇺💥 Russia’s Giatsint-B artillery crushes Ukrainian UAV command post

Precise hit disabled enemy’s recon and guidance system in Dnepropetrovsk region.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🎤 Keith Kellogg will step down before 2026 — Reports

Trump's Ukraine peace envoy will have served exactly 360 days — the maximum time allowed under congressional rules for the position, Fox News reports.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🗣 Lindsey Graham* pushes Russia sanctions bill

Senator Lindsey Graham is urging rapid passage of a new sanctions bill targeting countries that buy Russian oil.

"It is imperative we move this bill through Congress as soon as possible to ensure an honorable and just peace in Ukraine," he wrote on X.

This comes as the Russian president calls Trump's 28-point plan for Ukraine "modernized" and reiterates Russia's readiness for peace talks.

*listed as a terrorist and extremist in Russia

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔊 MTG announces resignation from Congress in January

Marjorie Taylor Greene has announced that she will leave Congress on January 5, 2026, which will trigger a special election for her seat.

In a fiery statement, she criticized both parties for serving corporate and global interests:

"Nothing ever gets better for the common American man or woman... Americans' hard earned tax dollars always fund foreign wars, foreign aid, and foreign interests," she said.

Earlier, the US president withdrew his support of the Republican congresswoman in the primaries.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🔍 US-EU meeting on Ukraine peace deal was 'disgusting' — Reports

A US delegation led by General Daniel Driscoll told European officials in Kiev that the current peace offer is "the best Ukraine can hope for," in a meeting EU sources called "disgusting", the FT reports.

US source called the meeting "positive, direct and respectful."

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt

🚨 'More weapons, sanctions = victory' is a fantasy — JD Vance

Vice president JD Vance insists any Ukraine peace must halt fighting, preserve sovereignty, be accepted by both sides, and prevent renewed war.

"Peace won’t be made by failed diplomats or politicians living in a fantasy land," Vance wrote on X.

📌Subscribe to @SputnikInt